Results 1 to 8 of 8

Thread: Yerba Mansa (Anemopsis californica)

  1. #1
    Senior Member grrlscout's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Hell City, AZ
    Posts
    752

    Default Yerba Mansa (Anemopsis californica)

    Hi all!

    I cruised by a neighborhood plant sale over the weekend, and this lil guy caught my eye.

    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

    So I picked it up, thinking it might make a nice addition to the SW natives / heirlooms bed in my garden.

    I read up on it, and its roots have lots of traditional medicinal uses, mostly relating to treating forms of inflammation. You can read up on the details here:
    http://medplant.nmsu.edu/yerba.html

    Unfortunately, I also read that it likes wet, marshy areas. So it would not do well in the bed I planned on planting it in.

    On the other hand, if it can tolerate chlorine, it might suit the area where the pool water backwash drains. I was looking for something to slow the erosion there anyway.


  2. #2

    Default

    very cool plant

  3. #3
    Senior Member Sparky93's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Southern Indiana
    Posts
    1,434

    Default

    Keep us posted if it survives the pool water.
    "Freedom had been hunted round the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing."
    Thomas Paine

    Minimalist Camping: Enjoy nature, don't be tortured by it. Take as little as you need to be safe and comfortable.

  4. #4
    Senior Member grrlscout's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Hell City, AZ
    Posts
    752

    Default

    Will do. It went in the ground yesterday, and this morning it looked pretty perky.

    I'm no chemist, but if I read correctly, chlorine is just a type of salt (sodium chloride). Coastal plants are often recommended for planting around pools, because they can tolerate salt.

    Yerba Mansa likes the salty, alkaline soil that is native to the desert. So I think I may be in luck.

    Added bonus, there is algae in that backwashed water -- the main reason we backwash is to clean the algae out of the filter. I'm thinking there are some good micronutrients in there, similar to what the plant would feed on in a seasonal desert marsh.

    As it is, the oleanders are irrigated by that water, and they are 20' tall!

  5. #5
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    44,846

    Default

    If you've got algae in the backwashed water I would think that your chlorine levels are not very high.
    Can't Means Won't

    My Youtube Channel

  6. #6
    Senior Member grrlscout's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Hell City, AZ
    Posts
    752

    Default

    When it gets hot, the chlorine evaporates pretty quickly. It's tough (and expensive) to keep up on it in the dead of Summer. We recently hired a new pool guy. So hopefully it will be less of a battle this year.

    I'd love to covert the filter to salt, or even better, convert the whole thing to a natural pool that uses pond plants and rocks to keep the water clear and clean. But that's a whole 'nother thread, and but a dream.

    Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

  7. #7
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    44,846

    Default

    THAT would be an awesome pool.
    Can't Means Won't

    My Youtube Channel

  8. #8
    Senior Member gryffynklm's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    West Virginia
    Posts
    2,084

    Default

    good plant choice.
    Karl

    The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion the the effort he puts into whatever field of endeavor he chooses. Vincent T Lombardi

    A wise man profits from the wisdom of others.

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •